Creativity is in every aspect of life, whether we want to admit it or not. Art teacher Samantha Bennett understands that concept well, by taking creativity and making a living with it, but also incorporating it into her everyday life. Whether it be a doodle on a random piece of paper, or her entire wedding, creativity plays an important role in her life.

The 212 degree award is an award that recognizes employees who go above and beyond their duties. Water is hot at 211 degrees, but at 212 degrees water turns to steam which is powerful enough to move a locomotive. This year head monitor Lester Banks and science teacher Colleen Holmes were two of ten district employees recognized with this honor by superintendent Tommy Wallis.

Many of us look to our teachers as mentors, guides, and in many cases, holders of infinite knowledge who we could only one day hope to possess. Often times we forget that teachers were once students, and have shared many of the difficult feats we face every day. For some teachers, school doesn’t end with the final bell after finals, but instead they trade their teaching caps for thinking caps, and take on the role of a student once again.

Deutsche Sprache, schwere Sprache. German language, hard language. German teacher Jan Krammer doesn’t want that statement to intimidate students from learning German. With her cultural experience and dedication to teaching high school students a second language, she inspires her students to venture into the world of languages through both words and culture.

Early in the morning, a student walks into room 6160, the newspaper and yearbook classroom, but they aren’t there to order a yearbook or snap a photo. Tears roll down their cheeks as the weight of the world seems to be bearing down on their shoulders, telling them they aren’t good enough. For many students, this may happen more often than they would like to admit, but it is something that teacher Rebecca Dominy embraces as an opportunity to connect with her students and let them know someone is there for them.

For 22 years, Ted Vaughan has been teaching students how to solve problems through Engineering Design and creating floor plans for homes and other buildings through Architectural Design, but that’s not all he did while he’s been here.

A lot more than an image can be captured through the lens of a camera. A glimpse of human interaction can be frozen, a memory can be saved. A photographer is taught to pay attention to detail, to step away from a scene to catch the bigger picture, and how beauty is found in unexpected places. Photography teacher John Burrows teaches students not only how to search for these hidden meanings, but also how to find their own passion and spirit through learning. Because he struggled with school, Burrows’ goal is to make learning relatable and interactive for his students so that education isn’t as intimidating.

Renee Richards, art and IB film teacher, assists students in developing their artistic skills through her unique approach to teaching. The desire to educate is not a learned skill for Richards, as she says she’s felt the desire to teach for a very long time. “I have two little sisters, Tina and Annette. We were […]

After balancing the things she loves – her job, her family, and other priorities – for 36 years, economics teacher Laura Wagner decided that it was time to do something for her own pleasure. That being said, Wagner never thought she would be putting the “fox” in foxtrot.

A riveting sense of humor, impressive demonstrations, and interactive lessons on the laws of physics are what you can expect in an everyday class with physics teacher Robert Richards, but what students don’t expect is Richards’ unique background and interests.

Picture your wildest dream – a chance you might take, a place you might go, a thing you might do. If you had the opportunity, would you go for it? In the 1980s, French teacher Michelle Currier had the dream of coming to the United States from Canada, and she followed it.

Everyone likes to be recognized, whether it’s a simple pat on the back or a Nobel Prize. One of the most memorable recognitions is graduation, but sadly not all students can attend. However, there is an alternative opportunity. Life Skills graduation was started by Bridgenettle Johnson in 1982 and has since brought that special feeling of recognition to those students.

Either you know exactly what you want to do, or you have no clue. You’re lucky to find one occupation you like, but two? After being a practicing pharmacist for thirty-three years, Hammond Oliver Pharmacy Tech teacher Anne Ballard transitioned into the field of teaching.

“My mom told them I would live,” world history teacher Patricia Bailey-Jones said. “She told me she didn’t believe God woke me up and brought me out of that burning house just to let me come to the hospital and die.”

Students believe that everything is a crisis, like when they can’t go out Friday, when they are grounded for a week, or even when they have a test. If only life was that hard. Unfortunately, there are some students that have faced more difficult problems, such as getting into accidents and becoming paralyzed, or being […]

Art teacher Jennifer Easterling was awarded Art Student of the Year earlier this year by the Texas Art Education Association (TAEA) for her work in college. The state level award was given to her at the art convention in San Antonio on November 15th.

School – necessary and very beneficial indeed, we can all attest to that. But by the end of a long school week, nearly everyone is exhausted and ready for the weekend, and most of us make it pretty obvious with our demeanor. However, for algebra II teacher and football coach Matthew Rice, that quality isn’t apparent. Everyone has their bad days, but Rice minimizes those days as much as possible, and doing what he loves helps him to be successful in that.

Although we’ve heard of many stories about people who survived the impossible, sometimes it’s hard to believe that these stories happen to everyday people that we might run into on the street, or even those we are fairly acquainted with.

Most would say that people can only set life goals when they’re still young. Others, however, are still setting goals and have dreams to do bigger and better things even after they’ve figured out what occupation they want pursue. For English teacher Megan Black, these goals extend beyond borders of being a high school teacher.